Young: When tractors invaded D.C.

All the focus on the National Mall in Washington in recent days brings back memories from my many visits to our nation’s capital. I have been struck with an overwhelming sense of awe every time I have walked through the museums and the monuments.

Most of my trips to Washington were news gathering missions as an agricultural reporter, not as a tourist, yet there is history in nearly every building and every street in the area.

Every time I have been there, I have witnessed a protest or two of some variety. It is not extraordinary to see people protesting in small numbers, or in parades of hundreds or even thousands of people.

Peacefully assembling and protesting is a right afforded the citizenry of these United States of America by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

I pray that the criminal looting and rioting and burning that took place in many cities across our country over the past year does not prevent those of us who wish to peaceably assemble from doing so.

Your voice should be heard. My voice should be heard.

How might our country look if the citizenry had not felt free to hold up signs with words of support for their cause or disapproval for proposed or current legislation?

It was 43 years ago that the American Agriculture Movement began. Congress had just enacted another farm bill that some farmers believed meant four more years of prices paid to farmers below the cost of production.

The farmers wanted to make the secretary aware that, according to AAM, “if the situation was not remedied, a depression in the farm sector would drag the rest of the nation down, too.”

A strike was set to take place on Dec. 14, 1977, if the government did not agree to certain conditions. Tractorcades showed up at nearly every state capital just four days prior to the strike day.

Many of those farmers who carried picket signs and demonstrated in front of government buildings in Washington had never been far from home and were certainly not used to speaking out.

According to AAM, when Congress reconvened on Jan. 18, 1978, 50,000 farmers were in D.C. to greet them. Just two months later, 30,000 farmers marched down Pennsylvania Avenue.

Some of the farmers stayed in Washington, on the mall, for several weeks. There were hearings and as time went on and the farmers went home, some lawmakers introduced legislation that eventually became law to help the farmers. Some believed these laws offered relief; others felt they were just band-aids.

I love my country, but it is rare that I agree with everything any elected official stands for or supports. As an American, it is my right to let them know when I disagree.

I can do that without burning down neighborhood businesses, looting big-box stores or breaking out windows in the U.S. Capitol.

Your right to peaceably assemble has not been stolen by bad actors. Intelligent people will not draw comparisons.

Animal Welfare

While the 2020 election brought about what could mean significant change for ag interests in Washington, there is something else we have not been talking much about in farm country. The 2020 election was the first time in more than three decades that an animal welfare issue was not on a ballot somewhere in the United States.

During the recent Michigan Agri-Business Association Winter Conference, Peter Ruddell with Detroit law firm Honigman LLP told attendees the division amongst the animal rights community is growing following Wayne Pacelle’s removal from the Humane Society of the United States. This by no means suggests that animal rights groups are no longer active.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals remains busy. This mostly-non-violent group combs through U.S. Department of Agriculture meat inspection reports looking for those rare instances when the first shot doesn’t render an animal unconscious at harvest, then files criminal cruelty-to-animal charges against the facility, the employee and the facility manager.

They place anti-meat billboards in areas where there are numerous restaurants with meat on the menu, in hopes, they say, that people will see animals as individuals, not as meat.

Taking advantage of the fear many American have of COVID-19, PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said, “In addition to saving nearly 200 animals every year, each person who goes vegan reduces their risk of suffering from heart disease, diabetes, obesity and cancer and helps prevent future pandemics. SARS, swine flu, bird flu, the 1918 pandemic and COVID-19 all stemmed from confining and killing animals for food.”

Newkirk also conducted a virtual “March on Washington” in 2020. She called it a 12-mile walk down memory lane, visiting animal rights landmarks in D.C. and reliving pivotal moments in PETA’s journey.

Pacelle has not completely fallen off our radar. His newest venture, Animal Wellness Action, “has a mission of helping animals by promoting legal standards forbidding cruelty. We champion causes that alleviate the suffering of companion animals, farm animals and wildlife.”

The website states that donations to the group, which are not tax-deductible, “enable us to influence the legislative and policy framework shaping animal welfare laws and regulation to ensure a better life for wild and captive animals. To prevent cruelty to animals, we promote enacting and enforcing good public policies. To enact good laws, we must elect lawmakers and that’s why we remind voters which candidates care about our issues and which ones don’t.”

Other animal extremist organizations held protests and rallies. Some used hidden cameras, long-range lens, drones and even night-vision cameras to spy on farms with animals. Others continue to target lawmakers, school children and consumers with misinformation about animal agriculture.

Ruddell said he is not expecting any significant animal welfare issues to appear on the 2022 ballot — at least not in Michigan, which has seen the greatest animal welfare success in the Midwest through the ballot process. I hope he is right, but I am not holding my breath.